Noted writer Jim Northrup died Aug. 1 from complications with kidney cancer. He was 73.

A U.S. Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, Northrup attributed his cancer to exposure to Agent Orange, a defoliant used by the U.S. military in herbicidal warfare.

Northrup was a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The Duluth News Tribune notes he “was an ardent keeper of Anishinaabe tradition. He and his wife started a summer Ojibwe language camp on the reservation, made birch bark winnowing baskets, took part in the yearly sugarbush to make maple syrup and harvested wild rice on the reservation’s lakes.”

I first met Jim after he returned from Vietnam. As a fellow veteran we had a few discussions whenever our paths crossed. The last time I talked with him was the spring of 1970 before moving to Crosby, Mn. I'll miss him as I know Duluth will.
Rest in peace my friend.

On the tail of losing my white pines and the cedar trees where by boys spent their childhood in tree forts, the loss of this man is felt deeply. I did not know him, just his path, his poetry and writing, and his teachings. That was enough and so very generous.